--- One ---
Within the jungle trees Jack and Sam were safe for the moment. Caught their breaths. Sam was bleeding, hit by APC cannon fragments. He explain to Jack the importance of stopping Jugeum.
"Jack, don't let them leave this island. That device Ellen was carrying is a bomb. Jugeum can't be allowed to steal it. Detonate it if you must. If his country could replicate it the world as we know it would be over. There's a key that slots into the top."
"Do you mean this key?" Jack dangled it in front of Sam. A minor setback for Jugeum but not a priority.
"How the hell? Well done, bookworm." Finally some good news.
Jack took out the med-pack to aid Sam. "I don't understand? What's so special about this bomb? Doesn't North Korea already have WMDs?"
"Not like this, nobody does. You've got to destroy it at all costs."
Concerned Jack looked up. "How do we survive the blast?"
"Once inserted you'll have thirty minutes to reach minimum safe distance." Sam had read the warning printed on the bomb's casing. Being centred in the mix of the South Pacific you'll learn a lot of languages over the years. "The construction of the bomb is over seventy years ago, don't know if the chemicals inside have degraded over time or if it even still works?"
"What's minimal safe distance?"
"It's a prototype, its radius is approximately twenty miles." Sam spoke as if that was good news.
Jack finished dressing Sam's wound. Didn't look good, he needed a doctor. "Twenty miles in thirty minutes that's not going to happen. The Earp is toast, she's not going anywhere and neither are you," Sam was getting worse, "how about the typhoon bunker would that withstand the blast?"
"I don't know? Jugeum talked about the ability to use the enemies vehicles and facilities after the detonation. I guess it must pass through brick as well as steel or any substance if the particles are small enough. It's some sort of molecular bomb. You figure it out, you're the scientist after all." The major's eyes drifted.
A piece of hope. "Shane and I alerted the Pentagon already."
"How'd you do that?" Sam struggled to stand.
“Shane was on the Earp for sometime before she was hit, went there to use the radio.” Jack wasn't sure if he'd managed to transmit a signal before the impact or not? "There's also a security camera on the storage door!"
"What storage door?"
“Promise you won't get angry.” A mischievous smirk crossed Jack's face. "You know that ramped-island you told me not to go on? I went on it!"
"That's excellent. Our navy will arrive." That gave Sam a little more spirit but the skies overhead remained silent of swooping fighter jets.
Jack remembered his and Shane's pantomime, had his doubts. "I wouldn't count on it!"
"Get to the sub. Disable her that would work."
"How the hell would I do that?" Jack shook his head.
"Two dinghies remain back on the slip-ramp. At the rear of all submarines there is an emergency rescue hatch, it's called an escape trunk. On every sub produce the prefix-code is 00000 then the country changes the combination when the sub is in service to stop an enemy gaining access. If a submarine runs into trouble the sequence for that precise vessel can be released to aid in a rescue."
This idea was totally crazy. "You want to phone North Korea and ask them for the door key to one of their attack subs? Good luck with that!"
"I'm willing to bet they haven't changed it." Sam had yet to meet a commander that hadn't.
Jack wasn't having any of this. "Shane's alive. I've seen him, he's your man for that mission."
"He's alive?"
"I saw him arming himself on the jetty, hiding among the crates."
"That's where the crew are being held." Was Shane going to rescue the Earp's team or had he really been sent here to retrieve the Japanese doomsday bomb first, all other priorities ascended? Was this his true covert mission and nothing to do with the chemical drums at all?
Collins needed Jugeum stopped. He wasn't strong enough to attempt it himself. "I've seen you handle yourself. I've read your report. Your country needs you, son. I don't think I'm going to make it."
"I'm a bookworm not a marine remember."
Jack had appeared from nowhere from the APC and saved him. "Where did you get that uniform and what happened to your hair?" Jack wasn't in league with Jugeum, figured he'd already ran into his henchmen.
"I've killed four of his goons since it all kicked off." Jack didn't know how to best explain it.
Sam twisted in pain as he laughed then became deadly serious. "Jugeum isn't going to stop until you're dead. It's you or him, do you understand?"
"Same crap, different bad guy!" Jack had been through all this back in Mongolia.
"I had a feeling this trip was a bad idea." Death had now joined them but this is how a marine goes out. Not sitting behind a desk but fighting the good fight.
"I'll draw them away and come back for you. We'll get you home." Jack wasn't sure how to achieve this?
Sam gave Jack the final bad news. "He's taking Ellen back with him. If you can't disable his transport the navy will blow them asunder. It's down to you." Handed him the pistol. "There's one shot left, make it count."
Jack caught the gun as it slipped from the Major's lifeless hand. Again a tool of war lay in his grip, was this Jack's lot in life? A bullet whizzed past, splintered the bark on a nearby palm. Their pursuers had located them.
--- Two ---
Mordecai managed to board the Earp by crawling through the kitchen food portal on the lower level. Making his way through fire and smoke to the wheelhouse when the soldier looking for him appeared at the end of the corridor and opened fire. The first bullet hit Mordecai in the shoulder forcing him back against the door frame of the nearest cabin, he fell into the room just as the next two bullets missed their target.
Sitting on his bum Mordecai shuffled backwards as the soldier entered into view.
The trooper lifted his mask, smiled. "The Captain will be going down with his ship."
As Mordecai raised his arms to surrender his hand brushed under the pillow of the bunk next to him. His fingers touched the cold steel of Sam's revolver, these quarters were the Major's. "You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man would you?"
"I have my orders." The soldier unsympathetic.
"That's what I thought." Using his best judgement, from under the pillow, aimed. The bullets struck exactly where the mask had been. The trooper never knew what happened. As the scattered feathers from the exploded pillow settled Mordecai spoke again. "That's for hurting my lovely Josephine."
--- Three ---
Jack's heart thundered inside his chest. The thorny roots and low branches cut his legs. Going to run out of island soon. Jack zig-zagged in-between palms and thicket. One of the three pursuers stopped, taking the advantage to aim. Missed as his radio headset buzzed loudly.
Jugeum had a strange request. "Don't kill him. I want to take his eyes. Bring him to me."
Thankful he'd missed. The soldier picked up the pace to rejoin the other two, relayed the orders.
Jack checked his pockets for anything he could use. All he had at the moment was Sam's gun with a single shot, not much good when you've got three assailants homing in on you. Needed to thin their numbers. Using the plastic cable ties Jack secured the APC keys to a hand-flare. Held up the keys so all could see what they were. Striking the base of the flare ignited the chemical compounds. The fumes strong. Intensely bright light magnified his position.
"What's he doing?" Questioned one of the soldiers.
Before throwing the keys attached to the flare Jack waved it side to side making sure he had their attention. Tossed the keys as far as he could. The unarmed gunner watched its flight path through the air. Changed course to intercept. Why the hell would somebody throw away the keys to hide them by attaching a burning signal flare? Bent down to recover them but the heat and sparks prevented him from doing so. Stamped his foot to put out the combustion, it wouldn't extinguish. The nearby vegetation caught alight. The gunner now used both feet to stomp the ground. A bizarre jungle-drum-dance. Jack's decoy plan had worked. The gunner got left behind.
Jack had one last flare remaining and the device key, could the same trick work twice? This key far too valuable to throw away but if so would both men stop pursuing him? He wouldn't have to make that choice. The jungle ended. Nowhere left to run.
Exposed, Jack stood on the collapse coral runway of the small airstrip. Three-hundred metres to the right the control tower and depot might offer some refuge. Ahead towards the shoreline a much smaller hanger with a short rail-track leading out over the water. Almost every corrugated roof panel had fallen off leaving uncovered the structure's ribbed frame. This place looked less favourable to hide which is why Jack thought it made the best choice to do so.
--- Four ---
Mordecai lay under the engineering column, the panel off. Began ripping out circuit-boards one-by-one.
"I'll find you my little beauty!"
His hand reached up over the console, his fingers searched for the start-up button. Still no ignition. A few more boards came flying out. Another try and one of the two Earp's engines fired-up, he had managed to by-pass the safety mechanism. Bolted upright. The panel in front of Mordecai flashed all sorts of warnings. The abandoned-ship siren sounded through-out the vessel, nobody left aboard to hear or respond to the alarm. Still situated in the deep channel though sunk below the plimsoll line the Earp's one running propeller rotated, churning the water.
"Once more unto the breach." Mordecai eased the throttle forward. The burning mooring lines tensed under the strain, holding the ship back. Mordecai pushed a little harder. The flaming ropes started to break, threads split. The Mal-ne oblivious to what was taking place remained inactive.
The Earp broke free. Slowly moving away from the pier. Blacken smoke trailed behind. Her oily footprint still burning in tow. Jugeum, nursing his lost eye, couldn't believe what he was witnessing. The broken ship ablaze was a majestic sight. With the rudder damaged the Earp's turning circle had increased. From the wheelhouse Mordecai saw the deep blue water turning lighter as the reef bank rose. The Earp in danger of dashing herself on the coral before making the arc to face open water.
Where's he going wondered Jugeum? Then with a whoosh of spray the Earp accelerated to full power with what the one functioning turbine could muster. Sped towards the reef. Unable to turn it time, the bow smashed into the rocks. The Earp shuddered. Mordecai's chested the ship's wheel. The vessel ploughed on, cutting its own channel through the coral. Jugeum believed that nobody was at the helm. The Earp a runaway. Going to have to change his exploding boiler story.
Mordecai found his bottle of Jack Daniels rolling around in the drawer, took a large swig straight from it, that decreased the pain from his shoulder. The Mal-ne firmly in his sights. Fought to straighten the wheel. The Earp came to bear upon the sleeping sub. Flaming debris mixed with smashed coral lay in her wake. Jugeum's worst nightmare was happening before his very eyes. Somebody was skippering that ghost ship. They weren't trying to make an escape they were going to ram the Mal-ne with everything they had.
From the isolated mountainside Jugeum powerless to intervene. Yelled into his radio, alerting the Mal-ne's crew to the rapidly approaching danger. Inside the sub all hands rush to avert disaster.
Mordecai noticed the black puff of smoke from the sub's exhaust pipe above her conning tower as the reserve diesel engines started up. "No, you can't run." His stare narrowed.
Some of the crew scrambled above deck. The Earp clear of the reef, free of friction, her speed increased. Little and nothing the Mal-ne's submariners could do. Pelted the Earp with small arms fire. She was a warship and shrugged off the low calibre munitions. Next came a RPG, aimed directly at the wheelhouse. The projectile roared towards Mordecai. The Earp's bow, as if she knew, rose out from a wave's trough at the exact moment to block the rocket's path. It exploded on the ship's front guardrail. An almighty wall of flames and destruction, sent pieces in all directions. Large chunks of burning charred metal shattered through the bridge windows. Smoke from wild deck fires filled the wheelhouse. Mordecai coughed, Jack Daniels lovely cradled under his arm, knelt behind the wheel. Steered the Earp relentlessly on.
A second RPG inserted too late. The Earp took her revenge. Slicing the Mal-ne's back. Both vessels violently bucked. The Mal-ne almost rolled a full ninety degrees as the Earp past over her. Yarris' men on deck at the point of collision were killed. Flood water rushed in through open hatches. Alarms wailed. Electrical panels exploded in showers of blinding sparks. A powerful damaging blow but not fatal for the Mal-ne, she bore an ugly scar from the impact but her hull wasn't compromised. The crew inside frantically reacted to control the crisis. The Earp an inferno, fit only for the breaking yards of Alang, continued veering out to sea.
Jugeum demanded a damage report. "Report! Report!"
Over the noise of klaxons Captain Yarris had the briefest of moments to respond to his radio. "A few small fires, all are out," as he spoke you could hear a sound on an extinguisher discharging, "the hydrogen fuel cells are undamaged but we need to check feeds. Power lost in a several compartments we're blind in section four, six, and two."
"We don't need those. Can we still run deep?"
"I believe so. I need at least an hour to assess all primary operational systems, pump out water, vent toxic smoke and check all compartments. We got hit pretty badly, Sir."
Just then the gunner appeared from over the slope, swinging the APC keys around his finger. Happy as lamb. He had no idea what had just happened to the Mal-ne. Ellen shifted in her seat trying to spot if Jack had been captured.
"We're leaving in thirty minutes. I expect it done." The one-eyed Jugeum gave the poor Captain his deadline. The person that freed the Major wasn't part of the crew under guard at the hanger. That meant it was either Jack or Shane and one of them had bravely captained the Earp on its suicide run. Jugeum surmised that the attacker must've been Jack because a trained professional would've finished the job. “Where is Mr Gehrig?” He asked the returning gunner.
--- Five ---
The bullets came fast. Shane facing the two attackers as he was being carried backwards towards typhoon shelter.
"It's only my leg, put me down!" Shane senses had now snapped back. Fought against their assistance. All four with their combined strength couldn't hold him or perhaps quicker for them to leave him behind. As he toppled to the ground he raised his hand grabbing the pistol tucked into the belt of one of his bearer's. At first they'd thought about taking it back then thought the wiser of it. Shane hit the floor rolling as the others continued fleeing. In one smooth action, as he tumbled in pain towards the beach, pulled back the gun's hammer and doubled-tapped each North Korean. Slammed against an anti-tank pylon. Two ribs broke and spat out thick blood after wincing. Just before he lost consciousness Shane witnessed the Earp break free of her moorings. The burning ropes lost their battle, whipped back cracking. Hot embers filled the air. The fated ship free. Shane caught a final glimpse of the injured Mordecai standing defiant at the wheel, his resolute fixed upon the Mal-ne. "That crazy son of a leprechaun." Muttered to himself then the darkness took him.
--- Six ---
Inside the tiny roofless hanger cradled on the littered rail leading out to the lagoon sat a rusting cobwebbed covered Kawasaki Ki-61 fighter plane. Beneath its fuselage the rocket-propelled catapult launching system normally found on CAM ships. Used here as a-go-between while the coral runway was still being extended. The back of the hanger had a large drain angled down into the ground so that the exhaust jet could dissipate safely. A solid mesh entrance forbade Jack's attempt to crawl inside.
Jugeum soldiers broke cover. Started searching the airfield. Jack climbed into the old plane's cockpit, hoped no snakes had made it their home. The floor had rusted through. A fallen hanger panel had smashed the canopy long ago the elements had finished the job. Flight dials cloudy but intact. A brown photograph inside a sleeve wedged between four instruments, showed a pilot's wife and their pre-school daughter sitting in the garden, behind them in the distance Himeji Castle. Still visible writing in Japanese across the bottom read Kendal family 1944.
The troops stood in front of the plane, one either side of each wing. Didn't bother to enter the hanger, obvious where their quarry was cowering.
"Mr Gehrig." They both announced. The game was up.
Never in a million years would Jack had guessed that he would die sitting at the controls of a World War Two Japanese fighter plane. He peered over the wind-shield. They were waiting. Jack ducked back down, probed for something he could use, anything?
"Our orders are to take you alive but if you don't come out we'll open fire." Began their countdown."Three."
Jack didn't trust them.
"Two."
He spotted something below the corroded floor, it was worth a shot.
"One." They readied their guns.
Major Sam's spinning pistol came flying out of the cockpit, landed behind the pair. As they watched it Jack punched his hand through the bottom of the plane, pulled out the safety pin holding the cradle in place. Sat upright in the pilot's chair and pressed the stiff red button on the flight yoke...... nothing happened? Jack pressed it again….... and again......
The soldiers turned to face one another, amused. “He's trying to shoot us with the plane's guns?”
Jack sniggered. Placing both hands firmly on the fuselage went to stand as he did his ankle knocked the jet release handle under his seat.
GRRROOOOWOOOOSHHH!
Four dormant launch rockets awoke. Roared to life. The G-force pinned Jack to the seat. The aircraft got catapulted at tremendous speed. Faster than the two troopers could react. Wings of the rust bucket decapitated them both. The unstoppable plane continued along the rail sending seventy years worth of dirt and debris everywhere. It reached the end of the track, parted from its cradle and for at least half a plane's length the Ki-61 flew then crashed nose-first into the lagoon. Flipped upside down and sank with Jack still inside.
--- Seven ---
Above the clouds. Cruising at an altitude of two-thousand feet the PBY neared her chartered destination. The prince's bodyguard had sat in the co-pilots chair for the entire journey and thus so far hadn't spoken a single word in all those hours. Tuc noticed something among the white clouds. Banked the aircraft forty-five degrees for a better look. Something wasn't right. He used the intercom to invite the remaining two passengers to the flight deck.
Prince Kerdem plus the other bodyguard appeared at the steps leading to the cockpit.
"I thought the volcano on Davis Island was extinct?" Tuc questioned.
Raising from the atoll a huge trailing plume of thick black smoke filled the sky.
After striking the Mal-ne the Earp had returned, turning one-hundred and eighty degrees. Still afloat, Mordecai in one last attempt to save her, rammed his beloved ship up the first landfall he could reach. If the fires burnt themselves out perhaps the vessel could be salvaged, repaired rather then lost under the ocean's cruel waves. The American government owed him a ship. They could tow Josephine back to dry-dock and fix her.
The Earp sat ugly on dry-land, a broken lady. Her bow cut the sandy beach in half and continued up into the lush greenery, smashing palms and ripping the forest apart. The Earp then acted as a giant tinderbox setting the outer barrier island ablaze. Mordecai, too small to see from the air, sat on the furthest shore from the raging inferno drinking his bourbon. Pretty sure his insurance didn't cover terrorist torpedoes or deliberately scuttling your own ship on dry-land. Raised his bottle in salute to the buzzy thing in the sky.
"It is!" Answered Prince Kerdem.
"Then what's causing that mass of smoke?"
"I don't know?"
All four of them crammed the flight deck, peered right. The PBY continued to circle descending slowly as they studied. Tuc ready to pull them out at the first sign of an eruption. On closer inspection the smoke wasn't emanating from the centre island's crater but beyond on an outer ring atoll.
"I need to call this in." Tuc announced.
"We can't allow you to report," the co-pilot-guard spoke for the first time, "your flight path has been cleared but you can't relay our position with his Highness onboard."
"That's ridiculous!" Protested Tuc. "Besides we've got a constant transponder transmitting our location."
"We turned that off last night." The second bodyguard joined in.
"Perhaps everyone would like to swim home from here, how'd you feel about that?" Tuc's anger spoke for him. Both bodyguards changed their posture to defence.
Prince Kerdem apologised for his bodyguards' protocol. "My men have to take every precaution for my protection. If it wasn't for the fact that your plane was unique we would've taken our own transport."
"It doesn't make any difference we'll show up on passive radar anyway." Tuc calmed down. "No need to break my aircraft."
"Not here we don't." Prince Kerdem shook his head. "The Americans don't allow it, it's their island remember?"
"Look!" The co-pilot-guard spotted the beached Earp through the billowing smoke.
"My goodness!" Gasped Tuc.
"What happened to the Americans? Bad weather?"
"Negative. It's been clear skies for the last three days." Good ocean-faring pilots plot weather patterns that are hundreds of miles away.
"Captain's error?" Prince Kerdem hoped it wasn't friendly fire from one of his patrols.
"Possible? I'm obligated by law to radio this in. End of discussion."
"Wait! Where's the crew?" Nobody had thought of them up until now.
"Away from the flames, I'd imagine." Tuc reached for the radio switch.
"Let's take a closer look first, give us something more to report. Take us down lower. One sweep."
Tuc knew Kerdem was correct. "You'll get a much better view from the observation blisters at the back, your Highness. I'll take us on a nice steady pass around the islands."
The guard-co-pilot remained where he was, nobody was going to use the radio until Prince Kerdem commanded.
--- Eight ---
The roller-coaster ride wilder than anything Jack had experience at Coney island funfair right up until the point the plane disintegrated from the water impact. Broke into three sections. The pilot's seat got detached by the thick rear protective armoured plate shoving it forward. Disoriented, Jack trapped under water. His empty lungs stung. Won't be long, death had caught him up since leaving Sam.
The pilot's oxygen mask attached to its hose bobbed in front of Jack's eyes. With his free arm Jack tested it, nothing. Followed the air-hose back to its valve, twisted the small wheel. A tiny stream of bubbles flowed from the respirator. He managed to get half a fill, tasted terrible but enough to give him time to wiggle free.
--- Nine ---
The sound of the PBY was the loudest noise over the entire island, everybody no matter where they were heard the investigating aircraft circle. Jugeum took note that the plane wasn't military livery or any other sort of coastguard scout. He still had his head start. The Earp's crew would relay the true series of events but no details about any device. Ellen Priss safe in his custody. According to the gunner's account Major Collins was dead. That just left Jack. Had Sam told him about the White-Water?
Jugeum radioed the two decapitated bodies laying outside the hanger.
"Have you captured the infidel Jack Gehrig?"
Acquisitioning the weapons from the dead soldiers Jack heard his name mentioned over the walkie-talkie, couldn't resist the temptation to reply. "I'm sorry the bad guys can't come to the phone right now because they're dead. Please leave a message after the gunfire." Released a couple of shots then smashed the radio with the stock.
The PBY flew over the outer reef. A welcome sight. Jack believed the Pentagon had sent a rescue team after seeing him and Shane on camera. Needed to find Shane so the pair of them could disable the sub and get Ellen back.
The gunner now sat in the APC's driver's seat, he couldn't see the bomb's activation key anywhere and it had been him that handed it to Jack. Saw Jugeum's reaction to the radio message, decided best not to inform his commander just yet of the missing component.
Jugeum climbed in. "We're leaving." He hadn't bandaged his eye or cleaned his face of blood. Removed the needled by hand, threw-up afterwards. His new grotesque face leant towards Ellen. "Who is this man Jack Gehrig?" Responsible for at least three if not five commando deaths. “He's not just a museum worker?”
“Private Ellen Priss serial number CCM-713822-10.” Her flat response.
“He took my eye, perhaps I should take yours?” Jugeum grip tightened around his knife's hilt. “Is that why Shane and Jack weren't on the Earp? Are they special forces sent here by your scheming government to retrieve the White-Water after all?”
He'd get nothing from her. “Private Ellen Priss serial number CCM-713822-10.”
The APC turned towards the Mal-ne. The atoll on the horizon an inferno. From the air the black soot cloud cloaked the submarine's presence. The last surviving members of Jugeum's raiding party had got what they came for, time to leave.
--- Ten ---
Shane's eyes flickered open. Once again found himself being carried by the Earp's crew. Didn't take him long to be fully alert after being comatose, trained for this shell-shock state. Heard the PBY overhead. A plane like that would take four hours to arrive from Hamilton naval base. How long had he been unconscious? Checked his watch. Less than two hours had past since he made the request in front of the security camera. What nation did this plane belong to? Had the aircraft been en-route somewhere then diverted here? Where's the sub and the Earp? The outer lagoon shrouded in smoke from a large fire, too large to solely be that of the Earp.
Shane had so many questions. "What's going on?" Tried to stand but his leg gave way, the lower bone shattered by the bullet.
The first officer in charge. "Take it easy, Sergeant. Your leg has taken a hit. We think you might also have a concussion."
The crew were joyously assembling along the pier, waving at aircraft. Cheering.
The plane didn't pose a threat but the steel beast that left those formidable tracks did. "Where's the APC?"
The first officer hadn't thought about that. "The enemy drove their tank into the jungle taking Major Collins and Private Priss with them."
Shane couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You need to get your men off this jetty, they're sitting ducks. Get to the shelter."
"What about the plane?" The first officer reluctant to leave.
"I think the signal-fire the size of Manhattan might catch their attention don't you?"
"That was Mordecai's doing. He took the fight directly to the sub. Dealt a blow across her stern. We don't know how badly she was hit or the damaged sustained. We think the Earp exploded when it rammed the beach, causing that blaze." The officer then issued orders for his men to seek cover.
Shane wasn't going to go with them. "Did you check the dinghies for a flare gun?"
"Yeah! Nothing, not even a packet of cigarettes!"
"Help me over to one of the dinghies."
"Sure but like I said there's nothing to find."
The first officer supported Shane as he hoppled in pain.
Shane needed to know what the hell's going on? "Do you know why the troops are here, did they say?"
"I think I overheard them talking about the White-Water?"
“The bird?" It didn't make sense. If they weren't here for Jack or the chemical weapons could the White-Water's eggs really be that valuable to a collector? Was the leader of North Korea an oologist?
They reached the dinghy. Shane as white as a sheet, a trail of blood led back to the jetty. "Sergeant, you should rest. You don't look well. I think you're losing too much blood?" The officer called over another crew member to help.
Shane took out his knife sat on the inflatable's rib. The officer thought he was going to sabotage the two boats. Cutting the tough nylon hand-hold cord that ran around the top of the dinghy Shane tied the thread around his injured leg. Swore out-loud as he pulled the tourniquet as tight as possible.
"Give me another weapon." Shane ordered. Nobody was going to argue with the look that he gave them.
The officer took the gun off his colleague that had come to assist. "What are you going to do?" He handed Shane the AK.
Shane slipped inside the boat. "First I'm going to rescue the poor soul sitting on the water's edge before that island melts!"
The other two squinted their eyes, how the hell did Shane spot him? "Mordecai's alive?" The figure looked like a happy holidaymaker sunning himself, oblivious to the carnage that raged out of control behind.
Shane continued with his plan. "Then I'm going to take over the sub!" Plain and simple.
The two crew members exchanged glances. "How do you know it's still out there?" Nothing about how on Earth he was going to accomplish this?
"Has the APC returned?"
"Nope!"
"That means they haven't finished their mission. The sub is still here."
They pushed his dinghy into the lagoon, still burning with oil patches.
"But you can't walk?" Pleaded with Shane one last time.
"I won't need too." Shane started the electric engine. Raced towards the blazing atoll. Yelled back as he went. "Get everybody to the shelter." Nobody knew how many North Koreans were still roaming the island.
--- Eleven ---
From the PBY viewing blisters Prince Kerdem saw drifting cargo left behind by the wounded Earp. Why was it spread out inside the lagoon when the ship was beached on the outer island? A single launch crossed the open water, darting among the pockets of flames, leaving a snaking wake trail.
"I've got movement." The Prince called over the comms. "Heading towards the Earp. A single outboard, one survivor." He traced the direction back to its origin. "Wait! I can see the crew. They're on the main island." That inflatable must've ferried them all to safety.
"Roger that." Tuc manoeuvred the wing-tips to dip, letting the marooned men know that they've been spotted.
This is going to make a great headline Prince Kerdem thought excitedly. Prince saves the lives of an American crew plus the delegation of his unsociable neighbouring country. "Take us down then you can radio it in."
Tuc would use the deep access trench as a landing strip. "If the wind changes and covers us with embers the engines might shut down plus I need to have a clear view for take-off. We might get stuck here. I'm going to stay in the cockpit with the prop ticking over on idle. At the slightest inkling of trouble I'm taking my bird back-up with or without you, understand?"
--- Twelve ---
Shane took the schooner to the shallows of the fiery island. Mordecai looked up, wasn't overly fussed to evacuate. He sat cross-legged. Everything he owned in flames. After four divorces had cleaned him out he had always been lucky and kept the Earp. The ship will always be his first love, if any of his ex-wives knew that and wanted to really hurt him they would've gone after his Josephine, they never had. They hated her as much as him.
"She was a great lady." Shane sympathized with Mordecai.
Agreed with another mouthful of bourbon. "That she was!"
"She went out fighting. Did you leave me anything to finish off?"
Mordecai sparked into life, stood up. "I'll sure as hell like to have another crack. I'll help you finish the job." Paced towards the outboard.
"I understand how you feel but I can't put you in danger. I'll take you to Jack, he's laying low on the storage atoll. The pair of you can use my other boat to return to the jetty once I've collected my stuff."
"The rampart island? They sent two men out there I think to get him but none of them returned." Mordecai climbed into the dinghy. Noticed Shane's leg. The wash water inside the boat red with blood. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Shane lied.
Mordecai offered him the bottle. He accepted. Took a large swig. Looked towards the fortified island. His other boat missing that meant no grenades. Had Jack escaped to the graveyard or had the soldiers taken it, why hadn't they returned and where was it now? Was Jack locked inside the vault?
"Have you seen Sam? They took him away in an armoured vehicle." Mordecai concerned for his friend's safety.
"No, I haven't." The PBY then altered course. Shane instantly noticed the change in tone, turned to view the plane. The aircraft banking. "Damn it!"
"What is it? Does that plane belong to them?"
"No, worse!"
"Worse?" What could be worse Mordecai couldn't figure it out?
"That damn pilot is going to land."
"Isn't that a good thing? We can get out of here."
"Not when there's still an APC unaccounted for. She'll rip that aircraft to bits. We've got to stop him." Shane plotted an intercept course. "He'll be heading for the ship access channel." Powered the dinghy. Mordecai already a trifle bit inebriated fell backwards into the boat.
--- Thirteen ---
Tuc lined up the Catalina. "Stand-by this might get choppy." Worried about the burning water and floating cargo hazard that lay at the end of their planned landing strip in case they overshot.
"His Highness likes a smooth landing." A friendly reminder from the first menacing bodyguard.
"Landing a ten-tonne lump of speeding riveted metal onto a moving surface is like throwing a brick straight off a high-rise into an inch of water! We gonna bounce."
Prince Kerdem and the second bodyguard moved to the passenger compartment situated at the hull's waist and strapped themselves in.
Tuc's left hand didn't let go of the throttle controls hanging down from the centre ceiling panel. "Flaps at twenty per cent." Spoke to the first bodyguard as if he were a co-pilot. "Lowering floats. Forty-foot." The plane shook from drag caused by the air flowing over the wing support pontoons. Tuc held the plane level. "Thirty-foot, a little chop nothing to worry about." The PBY now flying twenty feet above the ocean headed towards the dark blue channel. Travelling at eighty knots she roared past the sentry outpost at the channel's entrance. "Ten-foot, flaps at forty. Here we go!"
That's when Tuc spotted Shane's little dinghy appearing at speed from behind the storage atoll. Mordecai waved his arms frantically, the alcohol bottle firmly in his hand.
“What the....?” Too late the PBY already committed to this splash down, not enough clear water to accelerate for take-off velocity in time.
WHOOOSCH! Her belly kissed the water.
The Catalina skipped back into the air, its momentum carried forward. The impact left behind a lone white flower petal shape splash. Everybody's head rocked hard, seatbelts dug-in. The bodyguard's lip curled at Tuc. He didn't have time to notice the disapproval, the water-runway had a moving obstacle blocking their path.
WHOOOSCH! The second splash-down point.
This time the Catalina stayed in the waves. Both stabilizing floats kissed the water, textbook landing.
"He's going to have to get out of our way! I can't turn at this speed, it might flip us over." Tuc tried an emergency stop. Full reverse. The engines didn't agree with the harshness of its pilot demands. The blades thundered. Large turbulent spray whipped up showering the aircraft.
"He's heading right for us!" The bodyguard exclaimed then saw Shane's AK. Reached for his side-arm. Slid the canopy side window open. Water vapour entered the cockpit. Protect the Prince his priority. Opened fire at Shane and Mordecai.
Mordecai's Jack Daniels shattered as the bullets flew past, all he held in his hand was the bottle's neck. Shane veered the dinghy, too late the Catalina's wing float struck the boat tipping them over. Forced the wing upwards, the opposite float submerged caused the PBY to dig-in. She swung violently. The yoke wheel snapped direction breaking Tuc's right wrist. He didn't have time to cry out. Linked his elbow around the control column to calm the Catalina down. A rough ride for her passengers.
“Why did you shoot? They were trying to warn us not to land.” Tuc angry on so many different levels. “I've busted my hand. I don't think I can fly plus I believe we've taken damage to the starboard engine. You're an ape!”
The bodyguard felt no need to explain his actions.
“He had a gun!” That was enough. Stepped down from the cockpit, his weapon still drawn.
The second bodyguard followed him to the side hatch. Prince Kerdem remained seated. “Wait here your, Highness.” The guards on full alert went to finish the job. Weapons led the way, opened the PBY's exit.
Mordecai held Shane above the water. Didn't know who was inside the plane or the greetings they would receive as the hatch opened. Stared up into the barrels of two pistols. “You clowns want to give me a hand.”
Tuc came stumbling past. With his one good hand threw out a tow-line to the stranded men.
Prince Kerdem then also aided with the recovery. Pushed his overzealous bodyguards out of the way. “What happened to the Earp?” Began reeling the injured men in.
“I'm the Captain of the Earp.” Mordecai made sure they took Shane aboard first. “This is Sergeant Patrick. He's a stubborn son of a goat.”
“Yeah! I noticed that when he made a collision course for my aircraft.” Tuc stepped aside to let the bodyguards heave the pair onboard.
“I need your radio. We've been attacked by North Korea.”
Before Mordecai could explain the APC emerged from the jungle. The crew that had remained on the jetty to welcome the plane scrambled for cover. The metal bug drove down the seaplane ramp and entered the lagoon. Jugeum at the turret's gun controls turned the deadly cannon towards the vulnerable Catalina.
--- Fourteen ---
The APC fired its five-shot cartridge at the PBY then reloaded and fired again. The first volley struck the mid-section instantly killing one of the bodyguards. The reinforced watertight bulkhead door in-between the waist and access hatch compartment took the impact of the second shell, stopped the ordnance in its path. The Prince sat visibly shaken inches away from the dent that appeared. The starboard observation blister plexie-glass shattered as the next three rounds pierced hubcap size holes across the fuselage.
Unbelievably while all this was happening Tuc leapt up into the centre wing column. Used his one good hand grabbed the support-bar and lifted himself into the wartime flight's engineer's duty station. During the plane's flight system refit into a single-handed operation they hadn't by-passed the engineer's controls from the original commissioned plans. Still functioning Tuc powered-up the damaged engine, the Catalina spun out of the line of fire, saving them from the final blast.
The last five shells peppered the tail section caused the rudder to splinter and detach.
The cannon jammed during its next reloaded. Jugeum's finger clicked the dead trigger. Down the aim-scope spotted Tuc staring back at him from the engineer's service window. An audible sound announced the cannon once again ready for business just as the smoke cloud from the atoll blaze blocked his vision. Jugeum didn't hesitate, switched the targeting screen to infrared. Nothing showed up, this had been damaged by Sam when he'd fired blindly at the vehicle. Jugeum howled with rage.
--- Fifteen ---
One figure that didn't retreat or seek shelter, Jack Gehrig marched out of the wilderness onto the seaplane ramp. Before him laid the sight of Armageddon. The world on fire. The only escape out of the hell was the immobilized battered PBY as helpless as the Earp's crew that swam out to the promise of her salvation. Without hesitation Jack climbed into the last dinghy. Started the engine and pursued Jugeum into the smokey abyss.
* * * * * *